USB Type-C is a connector system that includes a rotationally-symmetrical connector. Therefore, standard passive USB Type-C cables may be connected, such that either end of the cable connects to a source while the other end connects to a sink (e.g., the cable is flipably and reversibly connectable to devices). Multiple protocols (e.g., USB and DisplayPort) can be sent over the same passive cable regardless of how the cable is connected because the physical wires in the cable connect one Type-C plug to the other Type-C plug. However, an active Type-C cable (one that includes a signal conditioning circuit at one or both ends of the cable) that supports multiple protocols (e.g., transmission of USB and DisplayPort transmissions over the same cable) cannot support any cable connection without a mechanism to detect which end of the cable is connected to the source and which end of the cable is connected to the sink.